Love cannot be defined in a sentence or even a paragraph. Every human has their own definition of love because people generally define love based on their culture. , origins, social classes, educations and their societies. In this essay, the main point will be the different types of love that Carver illustrates in his story “What We Talk About When We Talk About Love.” In Carver's story, there are certain points that I can relate to my personal experience. There are some characteristics and symbols in the story that are really important to understand in order to define what true love is and find the intention expressed in the story. These features include the relationship between Mel, Terri and Ed and Terri. Additionally, symbols such as "sunlight" and "dark room", "cardiologist" and "silence" at the end of the story may have a specific intention rejected. history. From her career as a cardiologist and her definition of love at the beginning of the story, Mel appears to be a very intelligent and educated person. However, as the story progresses, Mel, Terri, Nick and Laura become increasingly drunk. The drunker they were, the more confused they seemed about what true love is. When Mel and his friend were drunk, Mel started giving examples of old couples to support his definition of love, but in the end he seemed confused: and he couldn't clearly define what love is because he was drunk. Plus, Mel was talking about the old couple and how they were about to die in a car accident, and then he ended up falling into depression. Mel talked about his first wife and he mentioned, "If I don't pray that she marries again, I pray that she gets stung to death by a swarm of fucking bees" (Carver 683). I think when Mel...... middle of paper ......y it's the more Mel, Terri, Laura and Nick got drunk, the more they talked about love, the more they showed their true characteristics , and moreover, all the characteristics have merged in the definition of what love is. Raymond Carver also wants to tell his readers that love can mean different things to different people, and that love is based on their experience of love and how love treats them as a person. Carver also intended to show how alcohol played an important role in defining what love is and how someone can forget their love when drunk. Carver intended to show his reader how silent he and his friend became when the alcohol or gin was finished. Some people fall in love with alcohol and choose to consume alcohol over the people they love. Love can be good and lead to success, but it can also be dangerous and lead to suicide.